Dozens of speakers lined up at Tuesday night’s Public Safety Committee meeting to speak out against a proposed youth curfew in Oakland.

Oakland City Councilmember’s Noel Gallo’s appeal that “Every city in the U.S. has a curfew” drew boos and yelling from the packed council chambers as his controversial anti-crime strategy was roundly condemned by citizens and officials alike.

At issue: Gallo’s proposed a citywide curfew from 10 pm to 6 am seven days a week and from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on school days. It would make it illegal for youth to be in public or in businesses during those hours. Although the proposed ordinance was aimed at curbing offenses like prostitution and human trafficking, many speakers Tuesday night passionately argued against, saying it would criminalize all youth.

Oakland resident Andre Mouton, who has worked at Castlemont High School in East Oakland said, “We don’t need Jim Crow laws in Oakland.”

Dozens of youth and advocates from the community lined up to speak during an hours-long public comment period Tuesday night that was punctuated with spoken word, rap, raucous applause and the dismissal of two people from the audience.